


Hidden Business

by TartKisses



Series: An engineer AU? [2]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternative universe - engineers, Ambiguous Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, Lighthearted discussions on death!, Longing, M/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 16:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10970805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TartKisses/pseuds/TartKisses
Summary: Accompanying Link on a business trip to present the company's newest innovation, Rhett is snubbed by a prince charming, experiences missed opportunities, and finds out that he smells nice.





	Hidden Business

**Author's Note:**

> Close To You - a song popularised by The Carpenters in 1970.

Hidden Business  
Rhett never expected that he would end up in a semi-expensive hotel room with Link. Especially not as part of a business trip with the man.

A soft, velvety voice escapes the confines of their ensuite bathroom, the words echoing, mixed with the sound of rushing and splashing water. Fingers drop a spoon onto the edges of a steaming bowl of oatmeal with a metallic clang, and Rhett turns in his stool to look at the white bathroom door. 

This man can sing, too. Amazing. Is there anything he can’t do?

‘I don’t think he’s capable of presenting to a crowd of a few hundred,’ Rhett states.

He’s seated next to his boss at her desk, the air-con mounted on the wall above them sending pleasantly chilled waves of air near their forms. A meticulously kept planner sits in front of Stevie, and she looks up from it to give Rhett a smirk.

‘He’s gonna be fine, Rhett. I mean, he’s never given a single boring presentation during his time here. Even the people who usually nod off during them keep an eye open when he speaks.’

Everyone paid attention to his talks while Rhett simply focused on Link’s voice and hand motions and occasional bursts of bubbly laughter.

Whatever.

‘So you’re going to ignore the shaky knees and nauseous look he gets afterwards?’

Rhett sees Stevie’s face slightly falter at this, and a tiny sigh escapes him. He adds, ‘Why isn’t the marketing guy doing it? Can’t we outsource someone to present it for us?’

‘The “marketing guy”,’ Stevie makes quotation marks at this, ‘is out sick. I talked to him on the phone yesterday and I could barely hear his voice. And outsourcing?’ Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she gives Rhett a weary look, and he’s beginning to regret questioning her decisions. ‘We’re a bit strapped for cash again.’

Rhett leans against the desk and smiles. ‘You pay us too much.’

‘I do, don’t I? Especially considering the amount of attitude I get from people like you.’ Rhett chuckles at this, and Stevie’s smiling again. ‘Hopefully our project is going to rake in money so we can get a little extra in our bank.’

‘The project Link’s going to present in a few days’ time.’

She turns back to her planner, the pen in her hand scribbling out black, loopy notes on the margins. ‘Rhett. I’m going to get you to go with him.’

His formerly stern eyes widen at this.

‘I’ve paid for the flights over, but you two will have to split accommodation costs between each other and pay for the flights back. Is that okay?’

Confused, Rhett’s brows furrow. ‘But why am I going?’

‘Because he needs moral support,’ Stevie answers. She faces him again, and a cheeky smile slowly spreads upon her features. ‘Plus, you’ll have an excuse to have some time with him for once. Things kinda stagnated after that dinner from last month, right?’ 

It’s true. Other than semi-regular office interactions and texts exchanged late at night, they’ve only caught up once, and that was during a traffic jam. 

A hand goes to cover his mouth, his eyes focusing on one of the few empty spots on Stevie’s desk as he ponders upon this opportunity. ‘Hmm.’

‘Think about it.’ Clutching her hands to her heart, Stevie adopts a fanciful voice. ‘You’ll be the only one there to support him in the flesh, the one to lend a shoulder when he’s tired and has post-speech shakes… Maybe you two could even order a queen sized bed for two.’ She punctuates the last sentence with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Rhett’s hand, which has been playing with his beard, drops from his face. ‘Are you kidding me?’ His look is indignant. ‘If a queen sized bed comes my way, there is no chance I am sharing it. I’m gonna go full spread out like a starfish mode on that thing and nobody can stop me. Link can sleep on a couch. Screw him.’

Stevie’s expression is deadpan. 

The bathroom door bursts open and Rhett snaps out of his reverie, eyes flicking to Link’s attractive, half clothed form walking towards the luggage sitting on his bed. Dark, damp hair, dishevelled from towelling, drips upon his bare shoulders and the carpet and everything Link’s trying to obtain from his trunk, and both men quietly curse, one at the other, one at his slightly ruined belongings. 

Azure eyes timidly flick upwards from the items set in front of them to Rhett. ‘I think I forgot my pomade,’ Link mumbles, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Rhett smiles warmly. ‘I have a tub somewhere in my bag. Take a look.’

‘Thanks,’ Link breathes, smiling back, and he moves to open the khaki green duffle bag on the floor besides Rhett’s bed, his crouching form disappearing behind it.

Rhett’s eyes flick back to the now visible interior of the bathroom, traces of condensation still lurking on the mirrors. ‘Were you singing Close To You before?’

The top of Link’s head peeps up above the bed. ‘Uh, yeah.’

‘Seriously? Never imagined you to be the sappy type.’

Link snorts and his head disappears again, rustling sounds resuming. ‘I can be sappy if I want. Besides, it was either that or Damnit Janet from Rocky Horror, and singing all the parts for the song would’ve tripped me up.’

A thought that Rhett wishes hadn’t occurred to him appears in his mind, and his snickering has Link arching a brow when he rises up from the floor with the tub in hand. ‘What?’ He asks.

‘You remember when you first came to the company and you had that kinda 70’s style haircut?’

Link blinks at his words. ‘It wasn’t that bad, was it?’

‘Oh, no, no!’ Rhett’s waving a hand in denial. ‘It looked just as good as the one you currently have. You always look good, alright?’

Link grins in gratitude.

‘It did make you look like Brad Majors, though.’

Jaw dropping, Link turns to walk back to the bathroom, asking over his shoulder, ‘You saying I look like an asshole?’ 

Rhett smirks. ‘Yep!’

The shirtless man pauses to stick his tongue out at Rhett’s grin before slipping back into the brightly lit bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. 

Despite being a grown man, Link could be absolutely childish.

Rhett turns back to his now lukewarm oatmeal, scoops up a spoonful, and raises the spoon to his mouth.

It was yet another reason why he adored him as much as he did.

Soon enough, the sound of soft footsteps returns to the bedroom, and Rhett turns from his now empty bowl to the source of the movement. What greets his eyes has him blinking in disbelief.

Link’s white trousers are matched with a white hooded overcoat, a black dress shirt, and a plum tie, which currently laid undone against the aforementioned shirt. His look was… Well…

‘You look like royalty that’s met urban fashion,’ Rhett finally says, lifting himself off the stool to join the man standing between their beds, and Link smiles weakly. ‘I’ve always looked like royalty,’ he mutters, glancing down to play at one of the buttons on his coat.

Like a prince, Rhett thinks as he walks behind Link, observing the pinched fabric towards the lower third of the coat, and before he knows it he’s clearing his voice and slotting his arms around Link’s waist. In response, the man in his arms jumps a bit and glances up at him in alarm.

‘Oh? What’s this?’ He questions in a voice he hopes sounds fanciful and official. ‘Are you the one that I, knight McLaughlin, was sent to save from a terrifying two-headed dragon? Well, fear not, my lord, for I have come to rescue you!’

Link’s eyes shine in mirth. ‘They say nothing looks more terrifying than the two-headed dragon,’ he speaks in a polished tone, ‘and yet- here you are!’ 

A dramatized gasp falls out of Rhett’s mouth before he feels his nose get flicked, and in his surprise his arms let Link go. Laughter escapes from the shorter man, and Rhett can’t help but smile back at the asshole opposite him.

‘No, Rhett, I’m kiddin’,’ Link speaks, grabbing Rhett’s hand and twirling himself back into Rhett’s arms. His body drops a little at the end, forcing Rhett to catch him, and Rhett looks down at the handsome face that’s close to his. ‘You’re more handsome than any human being, royal or otherwise,’ Link adds.

Smiling, Rhett kisses his forehead. ‘Thanks. You really gotta give yourself some credit too, y’know.’ 

‘With these clothes on? I can’t.’

What Link is wearing is totally different from his typical wardrobe of biker jackets and slim fit trousers. It must’ve been jarring to see himself in so much white for once.

Rhett unfastens himself from the body in his arms, walking across the room to a black cardboard box that sits on the mini-kitchen’s counter. ‘Maybe some oatmeal will cheer you up? Honey cinnamon flavour?’

‘Oh, gosh, oatmeal?’ Rhett hears Link’s tentative steps following him, the corners of his lips slightly twitching upwards as he takes two packets from the box now in his hand. ‘I haven’t had oatmeal in… I can’t remember the last time I’ve had oatmeal. How sad is that?’

‘Beyond tragic,’ is Rhett’s reply, and he tears a corner of a sachet off.

-

Despite it being past midday by the time they venture outside the hotel, it’s chilly, the grey, downy blankets that stretch across the skies shielding the land from whatever heat the mid autumnal sun could impart upon it. The odd trees that accents pathways and roads are typically near bare, the few brown leaves on them leaving little to the imagination.

Link’s eyes are roaming, soaking in the hotels and business centres that dwarf their tall figures, but Rhett’s eyes are glued to the man beside him, worried at the now gloved hands that clutch each other for support. ‘You cold?’ He asks, and Link looks to him and shakes his head. ‘No. The clothes are warm as hell; I’ll give them that.’ He pauses, repeats to himself, ‘Heh, warm as hell,’ in a pleased voice, and continues, ‘It’s just that- whenever I’m not looking upwards, I see people looking at me. It’s disconcerting, man.’

‘They’re looking at you because you’re a handsome man in handsome getup.’ 

Link huffs and looks down at the cement pavement. ‘Why couldn’t Becca have designed something that looks like… That?’ Link points and Rhett looks down at his poofy outdoor jacket and overall wintery clothes. ‘I swear,’ Link mutters, ‘when I get back, I’m gonna stand right in front of her and just burst into tears and hope she gets the message.’

Rhett rolls his eyes. ‘You’re gonna make her feel bad for being creative?’

‘She makes me feel bad for having to wear this in public!’

‘Look, Link,’ Rhett sighs, ‘I’m sure she made it that way to deliberately get attention. People are going to be mentally invested and are gonna invest in the company if we pull something like this off.’

‘Please don’t remind me of my impending doom.’

Such a whinger, Rhett’s mind grumbles. He glances down at his watch. ‘Well, I’m gonna. We have less than six hours until show time.’

‘… What’re we going to do in the mean time?’

They halt at the curb of a confusingly marked, under construction street, grasping hands as they stop and start across the road and the cement island in the middle of it. Upon touching down onto the opposite side, Rhett lets his hand briefly linger before letting Link’s hand go, watching it hesitantly slip back into the man’s coat pocket. 

‘Well, apparently there’s a room in the convention that’s covered in 8K screens,’ Rhett returns. 

Link blinks, adjusts his glasses, and picks up his pace. ‘We’re going there.’

-

Glowing hues of pink and purple wash over the many forms that stand underneath the source of the lighting, casting a spell of wonder over the wide eyes that soak in the fine details laid in front of them. 

Having fallen for the spell hard, Rhett’s entranced. Screens mere inches away from his face showcase a portion of the galaxy’s star speckled skies, the slowly moving imagery almost unreal.

‘Beautiful, ain’t it?’ Rhett turns to see how Link’s reacting to it all, but instead catches the man quickly turning his head away from his. His eyebrows rise.

‘… Were you staring at me?’

A smirk plays at Rhett’s lips as he watches Link squirm, flush red, and look everywhere except in his direction, and he turns back to the screens in front of him once Link settles on looking at the screens on the ceiling with a curse.

After a moment, Link finally talks, albeit in a quiet voice. ‘Do you expect me to say some shit like, “Oh, I was staring at you because you’re more beautiful than anything on display here?” You had your moment this morning. Screw you.’

Rhett smiles, watching the colourful cosmic clouds drift along. ‘I used to stare at you a lot before that night,’ he mumbles. ‘I kinda wanted you to catch me in the act, because maybe then you’d talk to me, but you never did. And now I’ve just caught you in the act.’ He faces Link again, who initially flinches at being caught for the second time before crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, and Rhett grins.

‘I- I never caught you because I was almost always occupied with work,’ Link huffs.

Rhett rolls his eyes, shrugs, and fully turns around to face Link. ‘That’s true, yeah. But, Link.’ His fingers lightly take hold of Link’s stubbly chin, angling the now alarmed man’s head to the side, and he presses his lips to Link’s cheek. ‘You’re also dense as shit,’ he mumbles against the smooth skin there. A giggled, ‘Piss off,’ reaches Rhett’s ears, and he takes Link by the wrist and begins to exit out of the packed room, revelling in the various stares that came their way.

With what time they have left, they venture to various displays that pique their interests with the help of a guide in Link’s possession. Snore detecting beds, smart tattoos- of course they visit the ones that are a little unusual. ‘If I see one more smart car, I will cut someone,’ Link whispers venomously to Rhett, eyes locked on his boots as he passes a flamboyantly designed car.

Strangely enough, it’s when they reach a display for radiation proof briefs that Rhett realises how much they both adore technology, and how much he adored Link for adoring technology. For once, someone wasn’t exchanging his excited rants on tech for a dead eyed stare. It was refreshing.

He looks up from his phone to Link, who has a hand placed over his smirk as he observes the navy underwear in front of him. ‘Hey, Link.’

‘Hm?’

‘You wanna go and prepare now? We’ve still got an hour left, but-‘

‘I need time to rehash on the speech again, yeah,’ Link responds solemnly.

They turn to leave, but not before Rhett asks another question, this time more hesitantly. ‘And uh, Link?’

‘Yeah?’

Gosh this is gonna sound weird. His fingers subconsciously run through his hair. ‘You, um… Up for watching some TED talks tonight?’

Link halts mid step with a puzzled, yet amused look, eyebrow raised and all. ‘That’s- Well, yes, actually! Yeah!’ He’s beaming, and Rhett supresses the enthused smile that threatens to show on his face. ‘I love TED talks man! Holy cow! Which one’s your favourite?’

Rhett looks ahead, mentally calculating which exit out of the main area is closest to them. ‘Well, there’s one on spam e-mail I particularly enjoy…’

-

With a vice like grip on Link’s wrist, Rhett tugs the bespectacled man back, halting his attempted escape. ‘No, Link!’

‘Dude!’ The tone of Link’s voice is high and pleading, and his puppy eyes, adding to his desperate look, almost melt Rhett into giving in one more time. But Rhett’s resolute. His brows furrow, and his voice turns stern. ‘You’ve gone to the bathroom three times, man! Enough is enough.’

It was only a few minutes until Link would have to speak. Being cooped up in the cement dominated backstage area for the past half hour or so hadn’t done any good for Link’s nerves, the man having listened to another presenter nail his delivery.

Truth be told, Rhett was starting to get on edge too. Not good, considering he’s supposed to be the one who’s calm and collected.

Link sighs moodily, eyes moving to the floor of the backstage area as he roughly shoves Rhett’s hand off him. 

‘Look,’ Rhett speaks softly, ‘your body has chosen flight over fight and now you’re constantly getting the urge to… Do whatever you’re doing in there.’ He squeezes Link’s bicep with his hand, hoping it’ll send a message of support to him, but Link just turns to the wall that divides the stage from the backstage. ‘You’ve gotta fight now, Link. You’ve gotta fight whatever anxieties are being thrown at you and the ways in which these anxieties are trying to push you down. You’re strong, and I’m with you, and-‘

Link finally faces Rhett again, and his expression is strangely calm, eyes steely.

A man who’s accepted his fate.

Rhett’s hands go to tightly clasp Link’s shoulders, leaning ever so slightly into the space between them. Why was he doing this? Why was Link presenting for the company when he clearly felt uncomfortable doing so? Why didn’t he just say no and why hadn’t they postponed the presentation until later? These perplexed questions, which overflowed from a stream of more questions, leave Rhett before he can realise that they may damage Link’s esteem.

‘Because I owe the company,’ Link states unblinkingly. Rhett opens his mouth, and Link abruptly interjects with a, ‘And don’t tell me I don’t. I do. I was the one who forced a bunch of people to stay overtime and on weekends and on overtime on weekends to work on the Chameflage. It drained them. It drained a lot of the company’s money.’

His eyes shift to Rhett’s, and Rhett finds himself gulping from how intense they are. ‘So we could’ve postponed it. But that would be like saying that everyone’s efforts were for naught. They weren’t. Rhett, I’d be damned if this,’ he pats his coat, ‘isn’t the most useful thing in this entire convention, and it’s not even complete. When I walk on there-‘

‘You’re gonna showcase one of the best things this era is gonna behold.’

Link finally smiles. Rhett smiles too. ‘And I’m gonna show how fantastic we are, and everyone’s gonna kiss our asses and throw money and rice at our feet.’

Rhett squeezes Link’s shoulders. ‘You’re gonna do well,’ he says in a hushed tone, and Link nods back.

The stage announcer’s call for Link echoes in the backstage area, and Link, cringing and grinning, gives Rhett’s face two pats before departing. Rhett lets out a shaky breath and waits for the announcer to come off the stage before he goes to peek around the corner of the dividing wall.

‘Hello, everyone!’ Link waves to the crowd with the hand that doesn’t have a microphone occupying it. ‘Or should I say goodbye?’ Bending down to lightly place the microphone on the ground, he goes for a zip that lies hidden in the coat, tugging it until even his hoodie is zipped up, covering his face in a ridiculous manner. He waves again, presses a spot on the back of his coat, and Rhett holds another breath.

Rapidly, Link disappears. Rhett hears nothing, then hushed talking amongst audience members, and finally, Link reappears- somewhere else on stage. He can’t see from his position, the stage curtains at the side blocking his line of vision, but he can tell Link’s rematerialized because the crowd has exploded in whoops and applause.

A dizzy, yet elated feeling ripples throughout Rhett’s body, and he turns and walks to an unoccupied seat towards the back of the backstage. 

-

‘Oh man, I haven’t felt this lightheaded since that night.’

Rhett’s eyes move from the streetlamp illuminated, crowded footpath ahead of him to the weight he bears on his left side. ‘You think public speaking is going to be your new liver damage free way of feeling intoxicated?’

A small huff of laughter falls out of Link’s mouth, his breath turning to puffs of clouds in the cold air. ‘Heck no. In fact, I feel like I need three margaritas right now.’

‘That’s nine standard drinks, Link.’

Link squints. ‘Sometimes you need to die a little to live a little, Rhett,’ he mutters.

‘Yeah, well, we’re not drinking tonight.’ Rhett halts nearby the complex road crossing, eyes darting around as he mentally debates which direction he wants to go. The part of his mind that scolds him for overspending on food wins, and he readies himself to keep walking straight ahead. ‘Not after you-‘

Buzzing erupts from his back pocket. With reluctance, he goes to fish his phone out, only to find the caller is Stevie and that she wants to face time.

‘Don’t get me in the shot,’ Link commands.

‘Oh, you’re getting in the shot,’ Rhett quips.

‘But I look like shit-‘

‘But you always look like shit.’ Ignoring the kicks he feels at his ankles, Rhett moves his phone to an unflattering angle, pulls a face, and hits the answer button.

As per tradition, Stevie, too, has her phone at her chin and has her lip curled, though her phone being the only thing lighting up her face in whichever darkened room she’s in has her looking downright creepy. Both of them burst into giggles.

‘Hey, Stevie.’ 

‘What?’

Bringing his phone out from his face a little, Rhett grins. ‘An angel fell into my arms tonight,’ he speaks. ‘Wanna see him?’

It’s a rhetorical question. He shoves the phone in Link’s face, and Link, in turn, grasps at his chest and shrinks behind his left shoulder. ‘Nooo!’

Grinning at Stevie’s laughter, Rhett brings the phone back to him, this time at a more flattering angle. ‘No, seriously. Link actually fainted into my arms right after walking off stage.’

‘Shut up,’ Link whines.

‘Link,’ Stevie calls, and Rhett turns the phone back to the man still hiding behind him, ‘if it makes you feel any better, Becca fainted right after she watched you step on stage.’

‘But she’s not the one who was on stage.’ Link’s now peering over the side of Rhett’s shoulder. ‘And she’s not the one who’s gonna be criticised for their presentation.’

‘Criticised?! Are you fucking kidding-’ Not bothering to finish her sentence, Stevie’s face blurs across the screen as she excitedly waves her phone around, and Rhett smiles, knowing an ardent rant is about to follow. ‘Link! You fucking killed it! You were charming, and personal, and funny and shocking! There’s a bunch of articles praising you for swearing in the speech, and everyone thought you were the cutest presenter so far! And people think we’re the future of espionage, and-‘ 

Great. Even more reason for the CIA to be on their asses. Rhett can already smell the burning ambers of their office when it “mysteriously” goes under flames.

Wondering how Link is taking this all in, Rhett turns to the man at his shoulder, and he finds a pair of bewildered eyes staring at the phone in his hand. ‘They think I’m cute,’ Link echoes distantly, and Rhett’s left arm pulls Link in for a snug sidehug. ‘What Stevie’s trying to say,’ Rhett iterates to a Link that’s now looking at him in bewilderment, ‘is that you did great.’

The spirited rambling which pours from the phone in Rhett’s hand stops. ‘Right. You did amazing, Link.’

A faint smile plays at Link’s lips. ‘Gosh. This is all… I feel like I’m about to faint again.’

‘Please don’t,’ Rhett mumbles. 

The three converse for a bit more, trading insults and complaints and jokes, and by the time Rhett hits the end call button, Link’s been forced to take a day off come Monday. 

‘It’s not fair, man.’ Arm in arm, both men have restarted walking towards Rhett’s destination, the pathway now generally clear of human life. Rhett looks down at Link’s bothered features with scepticism. ‘I mean, we all stayed back and worked on the Chameflage.’

‘But you’ve been doing after hours for over a year now, and they’ve been doing it for less than a month,’ Rhett returns, not missing the way Link’s gaze flickers, ‘so you deserve it. No, actually, you need it, Link. You need a break.’

A sigh. A shrug. ‘I guess.’

This man totally doesn’t comprehend how valuable he is, nor how much he deserves. It irritates Rhett, fills him with a slight bitterness, and when he takes the gloved, unoccupied hand that hangs at Link’s side, he converts that frustration to care through a kiss. He pulls the wide eyed man closer to him, wrapping arms around him, their foreheads touching.

‘You always been like this?’ Rhett questions. ‘Underestimating yourself?’

A humourless smirk appears on Link’s face. ‘Sometimes… Sometimes, shit happens, and it impacts on you.’ His eyes briefly flick to the side before returning to Rhett’s. ‘Not sad shit, per se, but bad shit.’

Rhett can relate to that. Very much so.

‘You’re definitely a highlight of my life right now, though,’ Link whispers, and he closes the gap between their lips. 

Kisses are powerful. They possess the power to distort time in a strange way. It feels like it’s been no time at all by the time Rhett parts from Link, for example, and yet, their breathlessness indicates the opposite. 

With a blush that isn’t from the cold, he takes Link’s hand. ‘C’mon,’ he speaks quietly, picking up the pace again. ‘We’re almost at the store, and I need my Taiwanese noodles.’

Link quirks an eyebrow. ‘What store?’

‘A Korean mart.’

Seeing Link roll his eyes and smile at his words gets Rhett grinning. ‘Going to a Korean mart to buy Taiwanese noodles? Honestly…’

-

Before Link can wrangle his phone from his hands, Rhett manages to tap on the first suggested video under the one they’ve freshly finished, causing Link to groan. Rhett snickers. ‘Sorry, buddy.’

‘You’ve gotten all of them so far,’ Link gripes, gingerly resting his temple against a loose fist. ‘Will you at least pretend to lose?’

‘Nope,’ is Rhett’s answer. A jab in his side quickly follows his words, he retaliates with a pinch to Link’s hips, and a volley of pain soon rebounds between the two men. 

Having consumed dinner and completed the various preparatory stages of their pre-sleep ritual a while ago, they both now sat against the side of Rhett’s designated bed, watching TED talks and sharing earbuds as they procrastinated sleep. They had settled on a “fight to choose” method for selecting the videos they would watch, and, like Link had mentioned, Rhett has chosen all three so far. 

(More often than not, Rhett finds himself watching the faces Link makes towards the video than the actual videos themselves. He can’t help it; the being beside him is distractedly captivating.)

It turns out this particular video is on sustainable burial practises. A bit more morbid that Rhett would like, but Link seems fixated on the topic, so he keeps it running.

‘It’s not very good for the planet,’ Link mumbles, tired eyes glued to the screen, ‘but I kinda wanna cremate myself. Turn myself into a vinyl.’

Rhett quirks a brow, pausing the video and pulling out his earbud, with Link following suit. ‘You can do that?’

‘Yeah. No one listens to me in this life, so they’ll have to listen to my dead body instead.’

A corner of Rhett’s mouth twitches upwards. ‘And I’m assuming every song is going to consist of toilet flushing sounds?’

‘Oh, yeah, absolutely,’ Link replies, nodding and rolling his eyes. ‘Nah, I’m probably going to chuck some acid jazz and classic rock on there.’

‘There’s a difference between jazz and toilet flushing sounds?’

Shoulders falling, a long, deep sigh draws its way out of Link’s mouth, and Rhett smiles. Usually Link’s in the mood for arguing over music tastes- it’s one of the things they don’t completely agree on- but it seems he’s too tired.

‘What about you?’ Link finally unsticks his blue orbs from the phone screen to look at Rhett. ‘You thought about death and being fake deep?’

It’s Rhett’s turn to roll his eyes, though he does so with a smile. ‘Yeah. I wanna be buried under a tree. I wish it was for environmental reasons, but honestly? I just wanna be a tree in my next life.’

Link nods. ‘Fair enough. That sounds cool.’ He leans a little into Rhett. ‘But what kind of tree would you be?’

‘Oh, Gosh. I…’ Considering he has such an affinity for nature, one would think Rhett would have thought about this before, but no, he hasn’t. He runs a hand through his hair, mystified. ‘That’s a really good question, actually.’

‘Maybe a rosewood?’

Rhett blinks. ‘A rosewood? Why?’

‘Well, they smell nice,’ Link replies. An odd look suddenly flashes across his face, and he turns from Rhett to the brown carpet, a hand clasping his face in a way that almost poses as thoughtful. 

Rhett furrows his brows. But how did smelling nice relate to Rhett in any way?

Wait.

‘You saying I smell nice?’ Rhett asks incredulously. 

Although part of his face his hidden, Rhett can tell Link’s frowning, probably mentally kicking himself for his verbal slip. ‘Maybe.’ His eyes flash back to Rhett, a steely edge in them, and his hand drops from his face. ‘I don’t deliberately sniff you, okay? But whenever we, y’know, kiss… I can smell something, but I can’t tell if it’s just rosewood or what.’

Ah. ‘It’s probably my beard oil,’ Rhett states, fingers toying with his beard as he speaks. ‘It does have rosewood oil in it. And a few other woodsy things.’

He sees something glint in Link’s eyes, and, very suddenly, Link’s cheek is against his, fingers cupping his face. ‘Well, keep using that stuff,’ Link advises, breath ghosting over Rhett’s ear, ‘because it makes kissing you a heck of a lot more enjoyable than it already is.’

With lips barely skimming across Rhett’s cheek, Link rises, unplugging the earbuds and taking them with him, leaving Rhett stunned, wide eyed and with a heightened pulse. ‘Remind me to re-watch that video tomorrow,’ Link yawns, taking off his glasses and dropping them, with the earbuds, on the nightstand between their beds. ‘I feel exhausted, man. I need sleep.’

There should be a law against teasing people like this. The police should be busting into their hotel room right now and arresting Link’s impudent ass.

Slowly and unwillingly, Rhett rises, exiting out of the video and placing his phone on the nightstand. ‘Sure.’

‘And Rhett?’

The warm, fluffy donna sheet on Rhett’s bed greets his worn body, and Rhett resists the urge to sink into his mattress, turning his head to Link instead. ‘Yeah?’

‘Thanks for today.’ Link’s propped up on his elbow, the content smile on his face partly obscured by the nightstand’s lamp. ‘You helped. A lot. I’m glad you came.’

Rhett smiles back as he reaches over to the lamp. ‘No problem. I’m glad I got to spend some time with you.’

As Link rolls over to sleep, and Rhett’s finger hovers over the lamp’s switch, a sense of regret begins to seep into his system, regret of not having ordered a queen sized bed after all. Because, had he done so, he could have been in the arms of the man that shares this hotel room with him. 

Rhett flicks the switch, settles back into bed, and closes his eyes, a cloyingly sappy song playing in his mind like a lullaby.

Maybe some other time.

**Author's Note:**

> if there's one missed opportunity I had w this fic it was to write a sex scene or two but. i wanted an excuse to show casual displays of affection so Nope  
> the next chapter should be about Rhett developing the Feels for Link so ',:^)


End file.
